Republicans have introduced a bill to protect Washington, DC public school students from being expelled for not getting the Covid-19 vaccine.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are spearheading the effort, with support from Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Rick Scott (R-Florida) and Roger Marshall (R-Kansas).
If enforced, a vaccine mandate will ban 12-15 year-olds from attending school, unless they get Covid-19 vaccines. That's despite numerous facts such as: President Biden says the pandemic is over; the vaccines don't prevent spread or transmission; the vaccines have side effects (some of them serious or deadly in young people); young people are at a statistical near-zero chance of serious illness from Covid itself; and most young people have natural immunity from prior infection (according to CDC), which is more effective than vaccination (according to most studies).
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In late August, the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education announced a delay of enforcement of the Covid-19 vaccine mandate until Jan. 3, 2023. Previously, the office said that students would not be able to start the 2022-23 school year, without the shots.
Oddly enough, the school vaccine mandate for children still exists, despite Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser's recent withdrawal of the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for the city's municipal workers.
The Republicans argue that the mandate is particularly harmful to black students, who are vaccinated at a lower rate than other students. Black students make up the majority of DC's school population.
The controversial vaccine mandate comes after school shutdowns and remote learning – which experts say led to substantial learning loss, particularly for students already struggling in school.
If the DC school vaccine mandate is enforced, many D.C. students are expected to be expelled and fall even further behind.
Right now, any news organization worth its subscription fee is running story after story with evidence that the left’s forever pandemic is destroying the mental and emotional well-being of children. Yet somehow, right here in our nation’s capital, leaders are depriving students of a basic education if they don’t comply with the District’s highly-politicized vaccine mandate. Getting vaccinated should be a decision between a patient, parent, and doctor – not politicians pressured by big teachers’ unions and radical activists.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee)
D.C. public schools are blatantly discriminating against black students in our nation’s capital. The rate of vaccination for black students between the ages of 12 and 15 in Washington, D.C. is 60 percent – far lower than the city average. D.C. schools has already postponed enforcement of this racist policy until 2023 and they should simply scrap it. Until they do, I will fight for the students of D.C. and work to end this mandate.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
Read the bill here and pasted below.
To prohibit the use of Federal and local funds to impose or enforce a COVID–19 vaccine mandate in District of Columbia schools, and to repeal the Coronavirus Immunization of School Students and Early Childhood Workers Regulation Amendment Act of 2021 enacted by the District of Columbia Council.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
llllllllll
Mr. CRUZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on llllllllll
117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION
To
1 2
A BILL
prohibit the use of Federal and local funds to impose or enforce a COVID–19 vaccine mandate in District of Columbia schools, and to repeal the Coronavirus Im- munization of School Students and Early Childhood Workers Regulation Amendment Act of 2021 enacted by the District of Columbia Council.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
OLL22846 755
S.L.C.
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- 1 SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL AND LOCAL
- 2 FUNDS TO IMPOSE OR ENFORCE COVID–19
- 3 VACCINE MANDATE IN DISTRICT OF COLUM-
- 4 BIA SCHOOLS.
- 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
- 6 (1) COVERED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘covered
- 7 school’’ means an elementary school or a secondary
- 8 school, as those terms are defined in section 8101 of
- 9 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
- 10 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), in the District of Columbia.
- 11 (2) COVID–19 VACCINE.—The term ‘‘COVID–
- 12 19 vaccine’’ means any vaccine for the prevention of
- 13 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) caused by
- 14 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
- 15 (SARS–CoV–2) that is approved under section 351
- 16 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262) or
- 17 section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos-
- 18 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 355) or authorized for emer-
- 19 gency use under section 564 of the Federal Food,
- 20 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360bbb–3).
- 21 (b) PROHIBITION.—No Federal or local funds may
- 22 be used by the District of Columbia or a covered school
- 23 to impose or enforce a COVID–19 vaccine requirement on
- 24 a student in connection with enrollment by the student
- 25 in a covered school, including any requirement that a stu-
- 26 dent receive a COVID–19 vaccine in order to be able to
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12
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attend in-person classroom instruction or participate in
any school-related activity on or off campus, including an athletic or academic competition.
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF CORONAVIRUS IMMUNIZATION OF
SCHOOL STUDENTS AND EARLY CHILDHOOD WORKERS REGULATION AMENDMENT ACT OF 2021.
The Coronavirus Immunization of School Students and Early Childhood Workers Regulation Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Law 24–85), enacted by the District of Co- lumbia Council on January 12, 2022, and effective on March 2, 2022, shall have no force or effect.
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